Effective cleaning of metals and alloys following forming and/or annealing operations is an extremely important processing step. Surface oxides and other contaminants must be removed from the surface of metal or alloy sheet, strip wire or tubular products prior to additional forming and/or treatment and/or storage of the product. Such cleaning is normally achieved using a variety of techniques including acid pickling, alkaline pickling, a combination of acid and alkaline pickling, brushing, etc., in a batch or continuous process. The design of the equipment utilized to carry out the cleaning process has a direct relation on the cost and effectiveness of such processes.
One of the major problems encountered in cleaning lines is the large number of different metal and alloy products which must be cleaned with the same equipment. Each particular metal or alloy is often characterized by different extents and types of surface contamination and may require a cleaning solution, or a series of cleaning solutions, which may be very different in composition and/or which may be required to be cleaned by solutions held at different temperatures. Conventional cleaning systems typically require long delays in draining and changing solutions as well as other delays in temperature stabilization where a solution or solutions required to be used at a specific temperature are utilized. In addition, some cleaning solutions require the use of a solution made up from a solid product which has to be dissolved in water or other liquids. This mixing and dissolving process is time consuming and results in considerable loss of operating efficiency and time of operation.
It would be highly desirable therefore to provide a treatment process and system to be utilized in a metal or alloy product treatment line which will provide greatly increased operating efficiency and extensive savings in time of operation of the cleaning line when cleaning a succession of different metal or alloy products.